Sudanese-born North Melbourne player Majak Daw has launched a new program aimed at encouraging migrant children to learn the basics of Australian rules football.

About 50 children turned up for a 10 week program that will introduce them to the unique skills required to play AFL, such as handballing, bouncing a football and marking.

The 22-year-old was mobbed on arrival at a local park in Flemington by a group of excitable youngsters decked out in jumpers bearing his name and playing number.

Daw, his parents, and eight siblings arrived in Australia as refugees in 2003, having fled the civil war in Sudan when Daw was aged six.

He was introduced to AFL while at high school in Melbourne, and just three years after taking up the sport was involved in the TAC Cup competition for the Western Jets.

Daw was picked up by North Melbourne in late 2009 in the rookie draft and the signing attracted a great deal of attention as the then 18-year-old was the first Sudanese-born player to be drafted into the AFL.

He has since become a cult figure of the league, playing six senior matches for the Kangaroos last year.

He says his knowledge of Sudanese culture and family life will help him relate to the families of participants.

"It's more for the kids and the parents," he said.

"That was the biggest struggle with me, getting my parents to understand what I was trying to do and get them involved, and have the support of mum and dad and that's what we're trying to achieve."

The Auskick program is the traditional pathway to introduce many teenagers to AFL, but Daw says it is not always suited to children from migrant backgrounds.

"I think they wont feel disadvantaged in my program not having to compete with Australian kids that have grown up with footy and will give them a leg up and put them on the same level," he said.

He says he is aware of his responsibilities in being a positive influence on the lives of the children.

"These kids look up to me and I have to carry myself as a respectable member of the community, but in terms of a role model it's something I get labelled and I've come to terms with accepting it."

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